Posted by Dr. Bob on August 18, 2002, at 7:19:35
In reply to Meditation? « madison88, posted by Dr. Bob on August 15, 2002, at 9:28:19
[Posted by anthnyc on August 18, 2002, at 1:00:54]
> I paid and joined and tried and tried and never got the hang of it. A few years later I went on a weekend retreat and still never got the hang of it. The high fee and intro seminars are to discourage fly by night people like myself from wasting their time and my money. I didn't take the hint so I can't fault them for taking my money. TM is not just about meditation, it is also about a lifestyle change and a lifetime committment. You are expected to meditate 3 times a day and are encouraged to move up the ladder within their organization, which by the way is not cheap either (again probably to encourage your committment and provide their income). And like most organizations there are politics and nasty battles over control. Also, you are encouraged to change to a more ayurvedic like life. All things that would benefit most people able to make a lifelong committment. For myself in my depressed state I have never been able to stick to anything and I don't like "happy people" and therefore would never be comfortable joining a group of "happy people" and these people (my experience) are annoyingly happy. I have tried many different programs that teach ways to meditate and I still don't meditate. Try a free program, or a really cheap one first. If you don't get the hang of it or can't stick with it, don't blame the program or the method. Meditation may not be well suited to you. In my experience meditation gives you permission to set aside time in your day to have all the thoughts you want so that at other times during your day when you get distracted by your endless thought loops you have the experience and practice of catching yourself and can say "oh yeah there is that endless thought loop trying to take over my life again and because I recognize it from my meditations I can let it go and take away the power it has over my mind and get on with the real stuff in my life like brushing my teeth." I'm not knocking meditation, I just do better with medication. (That last statement would look good on a T-shirt. Go ahead make a few bucks. I'll never get around to it.)
poster:Dr. Bob
thread:902
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020702/msgs/926.html